DNF'd at 20%

This book failed to grab my attention, unfortunately. I couldn't find a commonality between myself and any of the characters. The writing, as well, was way too descriptive for me. As a personal point of preference, I always go for more dialogue than descriptions. Or in equal parts.

"... in this country, tombs are the only permanent thing we build. Only the dead have ceased their wandering -- their bodies have, at least." [loc. 2343]

The setting is Scythia -- here spelt Skythia -- in the fifth century BC. Araiti's father has betrothed her to the ageing king of the Skythians, Ariapeithes, in order to forge a lasting peace between their tribes. Araiti, fostered by her mother's Amazon tribe, has earnt her status among her father's people, the Bastarnai: she's a formidable horsewoman and has been trained in the arts of war. The Skythians recognise her for what she is, androktones -- man-killer -- and decree that she may not marry the king until she has killed an enemy in battle and taken his scalp. She's sent out with the warband, led by the king's son Aric, to patrol the marches.

At first shunned by the Skythian warriors, Araiti gradually makes a place for herself, and revels in the freedom that few women have. She manages to conceal her 'spells', which seem to be epileptic fits, and gains respect for her wise counsel and her courage. She despises most women (it's mutual) and can't understand why Skythian women don't ride or fight -- as apparently they used to do. Creeping Hellenisation is changing their world, with Greek colonies springing up where they shouldn't be, and Aric's brother Skyles making deals with Hellenic traders.

The author is an archaeologist and a horse-trainer, and both these skills have coloured her narrative. I was fascinated by Araiti's descent into a plundered tomb, and more generally by the wealth of cultural detail. (Herodotus is cited as a source: Ariapeithes and Skyles are historical characters.) And the horses are more vivid characters than some of the humans...

There's a romantic element to the novel, but it's also an engaging piece of historical fiction. I did find some of the dialogue too colloquial ('What's that supposed to mean?') and some of the prose a little florid, but I enjoyed Of Wind and Wolves enough to be keen to read the second in the Steppe Saga.

Thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for the advance review copy, in exchange for this full honest review. UK Publication Date is 01 SEP 2025.

Of Wind and Wolves follows the journey of Anaiti as she must wed the Skythian king to forge an alliance to help her tribe. Before she can marry, she must prove herself by collecting her ‘tally’- the scalp of an enemy she has defeated in battle. As a trained hamazon, she is no stranger to horsemanship and archery, but she has never taken a human life. This journey will be her ultimate test as she travels with a Skythian warband to complete her mission.

This story blew me away! The descriptions of the steppes were truly beautiful and I was immersed as I watched Anaiti engage with Skythian culture. Her character arc was complex and watching her struggle with her morality, assumptions, and womanhood was very satisfying. Her story is dark, bloody, and full of feminine rage. There are also elements of magic and romance that fleshed out the story without taking over the focus. This is the kind of historical fiction I didn’t know I needed. This is the first in a trilogy and I’m dying to read the next book.

J.M. Elliott's Of Wind and Wolves, the first novel in The Steppe Saga, is a historical epic that beautifully combines mythology and history with a captivating heroine's journey. Anaiti is betrothed to an elderly Skythian king in order to cement a political alliance, but in order to secure it, she must first kill an enemy and present their scalp. This rite of passage forces Anaiti into the wilderness alongside a formidable warband and throughout her struggle for survival, she navigates conflicting loyalties, independence and sacrifice. I found this novel to be exquisitely written, well-researched and extremely immersive. Elliott's prose is evocative and really brings the setting to life

Of Wind and Wolves is the story today’s historical fiction genre doesn’t know it needs. Where the current market is saturated with trendy tropes, cookiecutter storylines, and sociopolitical parables, the Steppe Saga offers something unique: a thoughtful and deeply researched exploration of a little-known ancient culture, told through the lens of a heroic and humanistic fictional narrative.

Ancient civilizations receive sparse treatment in fiction nowadays, and so much rich story potential goes untapped. It was refreshing to open this book knowing very little about the Scythians and come away educated and enlightened. By no means a light read, Of Wind and Wolves is densely packed with information, yet it flows naturally, driven by story and character, and doesn’t overwhelm. The writing is elegant and noticeably superior to that of current traditionally published books. If a few similes seemed overwrought, mostly in the first half of the book, I was willing to forgive them. The descriptions are evocative, and the dialogue, at times poetic in the manner of an ancient text and other times raw and even vulgar, felt balanced and realistic—something that can be difficult to achieve when writing characters who would have been speaking in an ancient language.

The story is told entirely in first-person, through the eyes of an Amazon (or “hamazon”) warrior. Here, at last, is a “strong female character” who stands simply, unaffectedly, on her own merits, without the sense of an agenda being shoved down the reader’s throat—and most importantly, without being “strong” only at the expense and demonization of every male character in the story. In fact, the narrator is the only major female character in the book—though it took me some time to notice, as I was too engrossed in the story to tally up quotas. She is surrounded by men, some of whom are horrible, and some are heroic. Imagine that—a fair and balanced portrayal of human beings.

While the book is by no means a romance, it features a love story, of the kind that at times feels worthy of being called “epic.” Neither soapy nor overly jaded and cynical, it evolves naturally as the characters grow closer.

I can appreciate the author’s effort to portray the Scythian culture in an objective, non-judgmental way, and I made an attempt to keep a similarly open mind. To the good, I feel the portrayal is probably a realistic picture of what the Scythians might have actually been like, and the author’s enthusiasm for the subject, especially the horsmanship aspect, is evident.

It’s inevitable, though—and natural—that readers will bring their own values into play in the judgment of any work of art, and for this reason I was never able to connect fully with the Scythian culture in this book. There is a great deal of animosity portrayed against the Greeks, whom the Scythians consider effeminate, dishonest, and promiscuous. To their eyes, trade and mercantilism is suspect, and urban civilization is inferior to the nomadic way of life. No doubt this is an accurate portrayal of how the Scythian people really felt about the Hellenic influence, but as one who admires the contributions of Greco-Roman civilization, I could not relate or agree. There was a certain irony in one character’s comment about “Hellenes who came north from the colonies long ago to get rich off the spoils of trade,” since the profits of freely conducted trade are by definition not “spoils”—in fact, the very antithesis.

I sensed an effort to ascribe a certain nobility and idealism to the Scythians—though neither is the brutality and warmaking glossed over by any means—but I wasn’t convinced. While I appreciated the Scythian “side of the story,” my sympathies and preferences naturally still lie with the culture that valued, at least in theory, trade over pillage, logic over violence, enlightenment over superstition.

Another reason I did not rate this higher was a somewhat disappointing ending. I did not agree with one character’s decision and felt that plot point might have been eliminated altogether, considering its outcome. Perhaps it will be relevant later in the trilogy. Also, a character’s commitment to another, which had seemed unbreakable up to that point, suddenly weakened. This felt like a let-down, and in general the book seemed to end on a downbeat. I’m hopeful this might be resolved in the next installment.

I look forward to seeing how the story continues to play out over the next two books and would gladly read more of this inspired author. I also highly recommend her newsletter, which I found thought-provoking and informative.

Thank you to NetGalley and Warden Tree Press for the ARC ebook in return for my honest opinon.
Anaiti has agreed to marry the (much older) king of the Skythian nomads to further the good of her own people/family. Before she can marry the king, she has to fight alongside the nomads and collect the scalp of an enemy, despite having no combat experience. She is an Amazon (hamazon, as they refer to her in the book, which I found really off-putting) but this is still a challenge due to her lack of experience.

I truly loved this book and couldn't stop returning to it, even when I should have been sleeping or doing a million other things with my time. I loved how real the characters felt, that most of them were fleshed out so well, and I loved the pacing of the story. There were a few small things that irked me ( "hamazon" instead of "Amazon"- I couldn't help but think of an Amazon but with a little pink pig nose) but overall I was sorry to turn the last page and sorrier still to realize that it might be a long while before the rest of the books in the series are out. I only hope that the span between the first book and the next isn't too long.

This book was a very interesting novel to read. I admit that I did have to do a little research on the Skythian Empire becausw I had never heard of them. I actually found out that empire was located in Asia and stretched from Mongolia to Iran so overall it was very impressive. There is also a touch or Greek mythology as well.
Our main focus is on the character Anaiti who is a princess of one of the tribes. Her father wants her to marry an aging King but she does not want to andd she sets out on another journey in order to achieve peace even if it means bloodshed. On this journey she learns the skills to be a good warrior and becomes close with some of the other warriors as well.
This book was indeed an interesting read from start to ending. It opened my eyes to another empire that I had no idea existed. The history lesson at the beginning was worth it and I can't wait to read what the author comes up with next.
I received an arc copy from Netgalley and all opinions are of my own

More review to come! I really like the writing in this book! I also the Greek mythology! I like how it is very realistic! The characters are very complex! I recommend this for fans of the Amazons!